the workhouse boy
by darkangel of silence
Summary: Meet Natsume Hyuuga, a boy born in a workhouse, fed by it as well as sold by it. Read about his adventures in London a few ages back.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own GAKUEN ALICE!!

The workhouse boy

1.Meet Natsume Hyuuga

Natsume Hyuuga was born in a workhouse. His mother died the same night that he was born. She was a total stranger to the people of the workhouse.

Even a reward of ten pounds that was offered by the workhouse management brought no information as to the names of the child's father and mother.

Mrs. Mann took care of the young children of the workhouse in her house till they were nine years old. When Mr. Bumble, the workhouse agent, brought the child to her, she asked him, "How did you come to know his name was Natsume Hyuuga?"

Mr. Bumble looked at her with great dignity and said:" I myself gave the name. it is I who find names for all the children born in the workhouse. Of course, I followed the alphabetical order. The last one was names Gonzo; so this one becomes Hyuuga. I worked through the alphabet this way down to Z, and then start over again from A." "I know that you are a learned man," remarked Mrs. Mann.

At the age of nine, Natsume was mercifully freed from Mrs. Mann's household. The child had never heard from him a kind word while it stayed in that house. The change to the workhouse proved even worse for him.

The members of the board of management were old and experienced men. They knew how to deal with poor children. They did not want to compel anybody against his wishes. It was entirely left to the children's choice whether they should starve to death quickly outside the workhouse or die of slow starvation inside it. The children were fed upon a small glass of thin gruel three times a day. This was charity indeed!

The new system of gruel distribution had brought into existence six months ago. It is well known fact that boys, as a rule, have enormous appetite. They have to eat a lot to grow fast. No wonder, therefore, that all the boys were suffering greatly from the pangs of hunger. One little fellow who had come from a cook-shop whispered to his companions how desperate his condition was.

"I cannot hold out much longer" said he. "If something is not done about it, I am afraid; I may have to eat the small boy who sleeps next to me."

The boys were so frightened that they held a council among themselves as to what should be done. Lots were drawn and it fell to Natsume Hyuuga to approach the authorities in the matter.

The evening came; the boys took their places as usual. The master wearing the uniform of the cook stood beside the big copper vessel to serve out the gruel. Before this a prayer was said thanking for their daily bread they gave them. The bread was imaginary, but the gruel was real. The quantity was miserably poor, so poor that the boys looked like hungry wolves. After the gruel had vanished down 

their throats, the boys looked at each other, and then at Natsume. Natsume cleared his throat, came forward with his basin and spoon to the master.

"Please, sir I want some more." The master had the shock of his life. He dropped his big spoon and stared at the boy, as if he was seeing a ghost. This was more than a request; it was a revolution.

"What?" thundered the master?

"Please, sir, "cried the others, tears coming into their eyes," we want some more."

The master threw the wooden spoon at the boy's head and twisted his arm. At the same time he shouted like a mad man at Mr. Bumble.

Mr. Bumble threw himself into the room the Board of Management was sitting. Fixing the chairman with his eye, he cried, "Mr. Limpkins, sir, I beg your pardon! Natsume Hyuuga has asked for more gruel!" this was something unheard of. There was terror on the faces of the members of the Board.

"For more?" said the chairman in a feeble voice." Mr. Bumble, don't agitate yourself. Tell me clearly what had happened. Did h really ask for more after he had eaten his supper?" Supper indeed!

"He did sir." replied Bumble.

"I am sure that the boy will be hung someday," said one of the gentlemen present.

Everybody seemed to agree. Natsume was to be kept alone in a room. Next day, a notice was put up on the workhouse gate. It was an offer of a reward of five pounds to anyone who would take Natsume Hyuuga off their hands. A chimney sweep was the first to answer the public notice.

The God fearing gentlemen who sat on the Board considered the question deeply.

"This is a trade unsuitable for a boy," said the chairman.

"Some boys have been choked to death in the chimneys," said another.

But Mr. Gamfield, the chimney-sweep, who came forward with the offer, said that he knew how to bring the boys down if they got stuck in the chimney. He would roast their legs by lighting a fire underneath to make them come down quickly. The Board thought that this was a very good plan, and it was agreed that Mr. Gamfield should have the boy, with three pounds ten shillings as a reward.

But the magistrates, who were also members of the Board, and had the last word in the matter, declined to give their consent. Finally Mr. Jinno an undertaker got the boy to be his assistant .but his harshness drove Natsume off his house not before long. Early one morning he found himself on the road to London which was seventy miles off. He bade farewell to all the cruel Bumbles and Jinnos once and for all.

Authors Notes:Forgive me if there are some mistakes. I cannot post very soon because my exams sre going on. I will try to post soon. So don't forget your reviews and please do point out my mistakes. Sorry aswell as THANK YOU ALL!!


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Notes: I do not own Alice Academy or any of its characters.

_Chapter 2: Reo_

_Seven days had passed. Tired and hungry with walking, Natsume slowly moved into the town of Barnet near London. He was sitting on a doorstep when a boy a little older than him addressed him._

"_Hallo! My lad, what is the trouble with you?"_

_The boy who spoke to him was short for his age. He was very dirty in appearance but much like a grownup person in his manners and behavior. The coat he was wearing was a little too big for him. Filled with a bold self-confidence, he faced Natsume, and tried to strike up a friendship with him._

"_I think you want food badly," said he, giving a hand to Natsume. "I shall see to it .i have only a little money with me, but I will help you with it."_

"_Are you going to London?" asked the boy, after they had shared a meal at a wayside inn._

"_I am."_

"_Got anybody there?"_

"_No."_

"_Any money on you?"_

"_No."_

"_Then!" said the boy whistling. "You want a place to at London, don't you? There is a respectable, old gentleman there who would give you a bed, and ask no money for it. I could introduce you to him."_

_Natsum__e was quite glad that things turned out so. They went to London that night. Natsume came to know that his friend's name was Jack Dawkins, and that among his friends he was known as 'Artful Dodger'_

_Arriving at their __destination, the dodger kicked out the door and went into the house. They were met by a man peeping out cautiously with a candle in his hand. They were led up to a room upstairs. Here an old Jew with faded red hair seen through pure white strands was counting out a large number of silk handkerchiefs. Four or five boys sitting about smoking and drinking. The dodger introduced the new boy, saying, "This is my friend Natsume Hyuuga."_

_Natsume had a good supper that night and a very good sleep. Next day the breakfast was also good._

_The breakfast things have been cleared away, the old Jew who was known as Reo Mouri, and the dodger and one another boy played a nice game together. This was the game. The merry old fellow dressed himself up for the occasion like a well –to-do gentleman and walked about the room. He had a spectacle case in one pocket, a silk handkerchief in another, a watch in his waist coat pocket and a snuff-box in one of the other pockets of his trousers._

_The two boys were stealthily moving behind him removing one thing after another from his pocket without his knowing anything about it. The game was so amazing that Natsume smiled a true smile from his heart._

_The meaning of this drama became clear to Natsume a few days later. One day the dodger, Natsume and the other boy were walking along one of the streets in London. They saw an old gentleman reading at a bookstall a few steps ff. the gentleman had his eyes fixed upon the page, and seemed to be totally unaware of what was happening around him._

_To Natsume's horrid surprise, the dodger went near to the gentleman and put his hand into the gentleman's pocket, took out a handkerchief and passed it to the other boy. Both the boys vanished round the corner at full speed. Natsume also took to his heels._

_But by this time he had found that his handkerchief was gone. Seeing Natsume running away, he thought that he was the thief, and started in pursuit of him. The cry of 'Stop thief!' was echoing down the street. Natsume was caught, taken to the police station and produced before the magistrate._

_The magistrate was just about to convict him, when the bookstall keeper came to the court._

"_Stop!" cried he. "Don't treat that boy like a thief. I saw the whole thing with my own eyes. It was another boy who did it, and he ran away. This boy seemed to be shocked by what his companion had done."_

_Mr. Narumi, the old gentleman, pitying on the boy, took him away in a carriage to his own house at Bentonville._

_.  
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